Freeze Frame
by dizzy - in - the - izzy
Summary: The images of his family were forever frozen in his mind. Never changing, never leaving. For the Jello-Forever October Challenge "Frozen in Time". Oneshot.


**I went to read a story by NellietheItalian, and saw that it was for the Jello Forever challenge "Frozen in time". I still have yet to read her story, but I got this idea and I couldn't read until I typed it. I'm pretty sure I love this, and I did justice. I have to say, I typed this in about fifteen minutes. Any mistakes and/or problems, blame on Mythbusters. I've been watching them too. : )**

**Title: **Freeze Frame  
**Spoilers: **NONE:D  
**Summary: **They swam there, forever frozen in his mind.  
**Prompt: **"Frozen In Time"

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Patrick Jane wished it wasn't like this. In his mind, he wished she wasn't frozen. His little girl, forever frozen at that beautiful young age, never growing. It was every fathers dream; for his little girl to never grow up. To Jane, it was a nightmare.

His wife, in all of her classic beauty, hadn't aged in five years. Her eyes hadn't lost their sparkle, and her arms never moved from around her daughter. Yes, the only picture Jane could manage to look was probably the worst one. It was so happy, and so promising. However, Jane found himself attracted to the picture. He wanted to jump into it, and never come out. The landscape behind them was so green, and the sun shone down brightly. It was taunting him.

With slight hesitation, Jane moved the frame so he couldn't see the picture. The rest of the pictures were gone. Burned, never to be seen again. He was only keeping one picture. This was the end of his brooding.

Moving on was hard, but he was going to succeed. He had to.

Grabbing his small box, Jane stood up. This was one of the hardest decisions of his life. Sure, he'd made hard ones before. However, this was hard. There were so many memories filling the house. He couldn't stand to leave, but he knew that it was better than staying. To dwell on the past wasn't something he could afford.

Walking down the hall, he saw his daughter on Christmas morning, her hair a mess, holding the puppy he had bought her. Her beautiful blue eyes were bright and happy, and he could still hear her laugh now. He heard his wife's laugh as she saw the puppy for the first time. He felt the happiness he felt at the moment swell in the room, and then suddenly shatter.

They were frozen, forever in his mind as memories. Never aging. He couldn't see them as if they were still alive. He could never see his daughter, five years older. All he saw was her young, adorable face. The teeth that were still coming in. The hair that changed with the season, to the sun exposure. The feet that were either black in summer, or white in winter. Forever burned in his mind, forever frozen.

He paused in the kitchen, and suddenly it was Thanksgiving, and his daughter insisted on making the mash potatoes. Her little hands grasped the masher, and she squished the potatoes into mush. They had been some of the chunkiest potatoes he had ever eaten, but they'd been the best. Her face as he smiled and told her swam in his mind, and he could hear her happy voice as she explained how she did it. He could feel his wife grasping his hand, smiling in reassurance that their daughters speech was almost over.

Walking out the front door was the hardest. Seeing the shining sun through the open doors, movers making their way in and out as they took furniture to a van, made him a little sad. It was all over. He knew that now, with Red John dead, his wife and daughter's deaths avenged, he could move on. Even if it wasn't he who had killed Red John, Jane still took satisfaction in knowing that is was someone he loved who had.

Still thinking of that someone he loved, he spotted her leaning against his car. She was standing there, supporting him, as he made a hard decision. She was there, in the sunlight with the green grass behind her, a slight smile on her face. She looked absolutely beautiful in his opinion. She didn't have classic beauty, like his wife. Her beauty was softer, and different. He couldn't explain. She was her own kind of beauty.

She took the box from him, putting it in the car while he looked at his house one last time. It looked empty now, but in reality it had been for years. There hadn't been life inside that house since that red smiley appeared on the wall. Jane finally realized that it was a good thing he was leaving.

He couldn't live inside that house. That house was dead.

"It's time."

He turned around, turning his back on the past, and looking at his future. She was waiting, her arms crossed, and a smile on her face. It wasn't a mean smile, more like a content smile. The warmth of the sun and the mood of the day had Jane wanting to smile like that as well. Nodding at her, he stepped forward and pushed a piece of her hair back. As she shut her eyes and smile wider, his mind took a picture. He would never forget the sight of her like this.

And hopefully this time, Teresa Lisbon wouldn't end up like the rest of the woman in his life.

Frozen in time.

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**Reviews would be lovely.**


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